Symposium 65
Words on the Returning (Raj’a)
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:All right. What can you tell us about the Returning (Raj’a)?
Hasan:We believe that the Almighty Allah brings back some people from the death to this world with the same appearance they used to have; this is in accordance with what Sheikh Al-Muzaffar.
This will happen at the time of the Revelation of Imam Al-Mahdi (AHHR) when the Most Gracious Allah brings
back to life some pure believers and some pure disbelievers; the believers defeat the disbelievers and punish them in this world, then they are moved to such a disgrace and grave torment in the Hereafter; this is all to serve justice and to give the oppressed their rights back.
Anwar:So, it is possible!
Hasan:Yes, it is very similar to the Hereafter as far as possibility of happening is concerned. The difference between the two is that in the Hereafter, people are resurrected and there is no coming back; it is not temporary, but with the Returning (Raj’a), it takes place in this life and it is temporary, not to mention that the Returning (Raj’a) has to do with certain people part from others.
Anwar:Thank you. God rewards you well. Will you now give us some evidence about the Returning?
Hasan:Of course! As a matter of fact, the Returning has already occurred in the past, of which we can mention these incidents:
The revivification of the children of Israel as it is
mentioned in the Noble Quran:
(Have you not considered those who went forth from their homes, for fear of death, and they were thousands, then Allah said to them, Die; again He gave them life; most surely Allah is Gracious to people, but most people are not grateful)2;243.
The revivification of Uzair is also evident in the Noble Quran:
(Or the like of him who passed by a town, and it had fallen down upon its roofs; he said: When will Allah give it life after its death? So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him to life. He said: How long have you tarried? He said: I have tarried a day, or a part of a day. Said He: Nay! you have tarried a hundred years; then look at your food and drink -- years have not passed over it; and look at your ass; and that We may make you a sign to men, and look at the bones, how We set them together, then clothed them with flesh; so when it became clear to him, he said: I know that Allah has power over all things)2;259.
The revivification of seventy men from the people of
Moses; these Holy Verses from the Noble Quran clearly state that:
(And when you said: O Musa! we will not believe in you until we see Allah manifestly, so the punishment overtook you while you looked on۞Then We raised you up after your death that you may give thanks)2;55-56.
Jesus Christ also brought the dead to life:
(And make him an apostle to the children of Israel: That I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of dust like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah's permission and I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with Allah's permission and I inform you of what you should eat and what you should store in your houses; most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are believers)3;49.
The revivification of the Fellows of the Cave (Ashab Al-Kahf) as it is mentioned in the Noble Quran:
(And they remained in their cave three hundred years and some add another nine)18;25.
Now, I give you a number of Holy Verses, from the
Noble Quran, evident to the Returning (Raj’a):
·(And when the word shall come to pass against them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth that shall speak unto them, because people did not believe in Our communications۞And on the day when We will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected Our communications, then they shall be formed into groups۞Until when they come, He will say: Did you reject My communications while you had no comprehensive knowledge of them? Or what was it that you did?)27;82-84.
·(Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this, these it is who are the transgressors)24;55.
·(They shall say: Our Lord! Twice didst Thou make us subject to death, and twice hast Thou given us life, so
·
·we do confess our faults; is there then a way to get out?)40;11.
·(And they swear by Allah with the most energetic of their oaths: Allah will not raise up him who dies. Yea! it is a promise binding on Him, quite true, but most people do not know۞So that He might make manifest to them that about which they differ, and that those who disbelieve might know that they were liars)16;38-39.
·(How do you deny Allah and you were dead and He gave you life? Again He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, then you shall be brought back to Him)2;28.
·(And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs۞And to grant them power in the land, and to make Firon and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared)28;5-6.
·(And it is binding on a town which We destroy that they shall not return)21;95.
·(Most surely, We help Our apostles and those who believe in this world's life and on the day when the
·
·witnesses shall stand)40;51.
Anwar:I am so grateful that you mentioned this great number of Holy Verses, but I still need to know how I can reason out the idea of Returning using these same Holy Verses.
Hasan:You are right. I am going to explain the Holy Verses one by one.
The first Holy Verse:
(And when the word shall come to pass against them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth that shall speak unto them, because people did not believe in Our communications۞And on the day when We will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected Our communications, then they shall be formed into groups۞Until when they come, He will say: Did you reject My communications while you had no comprehensive knowledge of them? Or what was it that you did?)27;82-84.
Explanation:
A – It is quite clear that(on the day when We will gather from every nation a party)refers to a
resurrection different from that of the Day of Judgment because it talks about a ‘party’ and not all the people as it is the case with the Day of Judgment.
This is confirmed by Ali Bin Ibrahim, in his interpretation, reporting from Hamad, from Imam Al-Sadiq (PBUH):“What do people say about this Holy Verse, (on the day when We will gather from every nation a party)? I replied, they say it is about the Day of Judgment. He said, it is not like what they say. It is about the Returning (Raj’a). Is it reasonable that Allah will gather from every nation a party and leave the others? The Holy Verse about the Day of Judgment is: (…and We will gather them and leave not any one of them behind…)”.
B – Sending a creature is one of the signs of the Hour of Resurrection. Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) says:“I am the one with repetitive raids and the state of states, with the stick and the brand, and the creature that speaks to people”.
The second Holy Verse:
(Allah has promised to those of you who believe and